Mom pays tribute to beloved son Austin White

Thursday

Mar 27, 2014 at 12:27 PM

By Julie Sherwood jsherwood@messengerpostmedia.com

HONEOYE — Cathy White-Barber said she prayed every day for her son, Austin.

Understandably so. Austin White was known for taking risks and seeking adventure. One of many photos White-Barber treasures of Austin shows him stretching his skills at a skatepark when he was young, with that big Austin grin showing his pleasure and pride in mastering the challenge.

“He loved that and doing everything outdoors,” said White-Barber.

Austin, 22, a 2009 Honeoye Central School graduate, died March 16. A senior at The College at Brockport, Austin was set to graduate in May when he died in a snowboarding accident at Whiteface Mountain near Lake Placid while on a college break.

Hundreds of people gathered in Honeoye last week to honor Austin. A lantern lighting on March 21 in his memory took place at the Honeoye Central School varsity baseball field.

Popular and athletic, Austin played varsity baseball and several other sports with Honeoye. He was captain of the varsity basketball team when he nearly died in a car accident his senior year. Friends and family say his remarkable recovery and how he handled the experience set an example and was an inspiration.

“He was a polite kid, a nice kid,” said White-Barber, who recalled Austin’s recovery after the 2009 accident. A registered nurse by profession, White-Barber during this period stayed by her son’s bedside as his mom. “The kids began calling me Mama Bear after the accident,” she said. The name stuck.

Austin’s 2009 injuries included head trauma, White-Barber said, which made college academics more challenging for him than it would normally have been. But through perseverance and extra help — including from his sister, Ashley, who tutored Austin in chemistry using songs and other creative methods — Austin was set to graduate this spring, White-Barber said. Even so, Austin planned to raise his grades in certain subjects after Brockport graduation in June, she said.

“He planned to take courses this summer to improve his grades,” White-Barber said.

Austin loved nachos; Dinosaur Bar-B-Que, where White-Barber took him for his birthday; country music (“he went to every single country music concert,” his mom said); and driving his big Ford pickup. He loved animals and pets, including the more unusual variety: He had a Sugar Glider, a tiny nocturnal possum he called Paisley. (According to National Geographic, the Sugar Glider can leap the length of a football field).

“This big, goofy kid had a Sugar Glider,” said White-Barber, describing how Austin wore a leopard pouch to carry the creature.